Spring 2025

COMPSCI 294 279 - LEC 279

Special Topics

Data Science for Social Change

Emma Pierson

Jan 21, 2025 - May 09, 2025

Tu, Th

03:30 pm - 04:59 pm

Soda 405

Class #:33738

Units: 3

Instruction Mode: In-Person Instruction
Time Conflict Enrollment Allowed

Offered through Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Current Enrollment

Total Open Seats: 7

Enrolled: 23

Waitlisted: 0

Capacity: 30

Waitlist Max: 20

Open Reserved Seats:

19 reserved for Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Graduate Students

Hours & Workload

1 to 3 hours of instructor presentation of course materials per week, and 2 to 11 hours of outside work hours per week.

Course Catalog Description

Topics will vary from semester to semester. See Computer Science Division announcements.

This course will teach you how to 1) conduct socially impactful data science research and 2) increase the impact of your work by writing about technical findings for a non-technical audience which includes policymakers and the public. We will both discuss and debate socially impactful technical papers, and read writing which communicates technical findings effectively for a non-technical audience. The class will cover three application areas: social inequality, algorithmic fairness, and health. The class will feature numerous guest speakers from academia, journalism, and industry. The main course assignments will be reading, presenting, and analyzing technical papers and popular press articles, and writing a piece on a technical topic for a mass audience.